DOES CHANGING OUTCOME EXPECTANCIES AND BEHAVIORAL REINFORCERS AFFECT SMOKING-RELATED OUTCOMES AMONG YOUNG ADULTS?

The cigarette smoking literature shows that smoking and smoking cessation are related to different cognitive and behavioral factors. While individual research projects tend to focus on either cognitive or behavioral factors, it is rarer to see studies that incorporate both. The present work developed a novel, brief intervention containing elements adapted from the cognitive (expectancy challenge) and behavioral (behavioral activation/behavioral reinforcement) smoking cessation literature. Young adult smokers aged 18-35 were recruited to participate in an Internet-based study examining the effects of this cognitive-behavioral intervention on motivation to quit smoking and likelihood of initiating a quit attempt by one-month follow-up. The intervention was compared with a cognitive-only intervention and a neutral reading task. 159 participants completed baseline measures and were randomly assigned to condition. 93 participants responded to requests to complete follow-up measures online one month later. While the intervention did not significantly affect motivation to quit, participants who received the combined cognitive-behavioral intervention were more likely to initiate a quit attempt compared with participants who completed the control task. Participants who completed the cognitive-only intervention did not significantly differ from either the control or combined groups. These results show preliminary utility for the brief cognitive-behavioral intervention in promoting smoking cessation attempts.